Places to Go, Things to Do

January 4, 2012

WEST MIFFLIN, Pa. - Something wicked is coming to Kennywood Park, as the Black Widow is introduced as the park's newest ride for 2012.

The Black Widow experience starts with riders sitting in outward-facing suspended seats that form a giant circle with a total of 40 riders. With legs dangling freely, each rider is secured with a shoulder restraint. Then the thrill begins. The giant circle begins to swing in a pendulum motion while rotating counterclockwise. At the peak of the swing riders will reach a height of 146 feet above the ground and experience that feeling of weightlessness coveted by thrill seekers.

The counterclockwise rotation and pendulum motion creates a variety of different sensations depending on a rider's specific position. The combination of elements results in a unique ride experience every time.

Black Widow will stand at 90 feet but will reach a height of 146 feet in full swing with an angle of 120 degrees from the center. The pendulum motion propels riders back and forth at 68 miles per hour. Black Widow will have a height requirement of 52 inches tall. Each of the 40 seats has an individual shoulder lap restraint.

Kennywood season passes are now on sale at $84.99. For information, go to www.kennywood.com.

The Word of God exhibit at Andy Warhol Museum

PITTSBURGH - The Word of God: Jeffrey Vallance features Vallance's creations of religious-inspired artwork, and runs at the Andy Warhol Museum through Feb. 5.

Vallance creates objects, installations, performance and curatorial works. Some of his past projects have included traveling throughout Polynesia in search of the origin of the myth of Tiki; creating a Richard Nixon Museum; and traveling to the Vatican, Turin and Italy to study Christian relics.

It is Vallance's interest in the relics and religion that brings his work to the Word of God exhibition series. Featured in the exhibition are Valence's the Vallance Bible, Jesus Exegesis; Three Beatific Visions; and the Gospel According to Jeffery. These series of writings are based on Vallance's personal experiences, spiritual upbringing and studies. The exhibition also will include a selection of his reliquary objects.

Vallance has a vast historical and cultural knowledge of the tradition of relics. Raised as a Lutheran, he was taught how such objects were inventions for "silly folk," but today believes differently.

His reliquaries, like Warhol's Time Capsules, store and revere mementos of travel, superstars, products and kitsch; from the plastic animals excavated from his backyard as a child in 1958 to the Vallance family Lutheran Catechism or a tuft of green shag carpet from Elvis Presley's house in Graceland.

Located in Pittsburgh, the place of Andy Warhol's birth, the Warhol is one of the most comprehensive single-artist museums in the world. The Andy Warhol Museum is one of the four Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh. For information, go to www.warhol.org or call (412) 237-8300.

The museum is open from 10 a.m. to5 p.m. Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays; and 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Fridays. The museum is closed Mondays. Admission is free for members; $15 for adults; $9 for seniors; and $8 for children and students.

Seven Springs Resort

focusing on snowboarding

SEVEN SPRINGS - Changing the game of urban snowboarding, Seven Springs Mountain Resort is proud to present the Streets at Seven Springs - a park dedicated to urban snowboarding, featuring an on-mountain replica of urban riding at its best.

Pulling inspiration from the surrounding area of Pittsburgh, the Streets brings a whole new meaning to urban snowboarding.

Urban snowboarding is supposed to be fun and accessible, but when riders can't find the right features the ability to actually enjoy it becomes limited. This is where Seven Springs and the Streets come in. The Streets offers a wide array of rails, ledges, gaps and wall rides, all built with the look and feel of riding in a city.

Since 2004, Seven Springs has been committed to developing and growing its terrain parks. In addition to the existing six parks and more than 70 features, the Streets is to be the most innovative urban setup created. Due to its hard work and dedication toward these efforts, Seven Springs has been nationally recognized as the 2011-12 No. 1 terrain parks on the East Coast.

The grand opening of the Streets is scheduled for Jan. 19. For information, call (800) 452-2223 or go to www.7springs.com.

Second City comedy

coming to Pittsburgh

PITTSBURGH - The Second City, the Chicago comedy troupe that launched the careers of Tina Fey, Stephen Colbert and Steve Carell, will be performing improvisation and sketch comedy in its new show "Laugh Out Loud!" today through Saturday at Pittsburgh Public Theater.

The show features "ripped from the headlines" material, archived classics, musical accompaniment and audience participation. Performances will be held at 8 p.m. today and Friday, and 5:30 p.m. and 9 p.m. Saturday. There will be a cash bar and cabaret seatings with tables of four on stage available for $220. Tickets are $15.75 to $48. To purchase tickets, call (412) 316-1600 or visit www.ppt.org.

Christmas trees exhibit at Carnegie museum

PITTSBURGH - The Carnegie Museum of Art will display the Carnegie Trees in the Hall of Architecture, celebrating the 50th anniversary of the holiday tradition.

The six 20-foot fresh pine trees, decorated with ornaments handmade by members and friends of the Women's Committee of Carnegie Museum of Art, will be on view through Jan. 12.

This year's trees, with decorations inspired by the theme "Solid Gold: Classics that Endure," will highlight art, culture and science. Included are "King Midas and the Golden Touch" and "Green Eggs and Ham," organized by the Women's Committee. Another tree, themed "Tracking Nature Bird by Bird," is decorated by the committee in conjunction with Carnegie Museum of Natural History, whose bird migration research program at Powdermill Reserve also is celebrating its 50th anniversary. The Andy Warhol Museum is decorating a tree titled "Super Pop! Pow! Bang!," which celebrates comic book art. A tree showcasing classic holiday treats is organized by Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh Special Services Department.

Holiday light show at

Pittsburgh institute

PITTSBURGH - The Pittsburgh Technological Institute's Smart Building Technology and Electronics Engineering Technology students and faculty have turned the McKee Road campus into a synchronized holiday light and music show from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. daily through Friday.

Students and faculty developed a proposal to turn the 2,500-square-foot campus pavilion into a three-dimensional holiday light show integrated with more than 20 holiday songs and 10,000 sequenced lights. Visitors will be able to tune into their FM radio to enjoy the show from inside their cars.